Naoki Koide
12 Jan - 02 Feb 2008
NAOKI KOIDE
"In These Days"
Jan 12.sat - Feb 2.sat, 2008
opening reseption Jan 12.sat 6:00 - 8:00pm
Naoki Koide uses deformed sculptures to express himself and the people he associates with. Using a file on fiber reinforced plastic (FRP), he forms pastel shapes that extend in all directions. At first glance, they resemble figures that may be encountered at amusement parks or outside franchise restaurants, bakeries, and drug stores in Japan, however, the hidden smiles and fathomless expressions go beyond the world as we know it to create a character that is far removed from the realm of the normal and everyday.
Koide's works harbor a hint of friendliness that lurks somewhere within the eerie forms, which are occasionally depicted as a small hippopotamus, salamander, frog, or cat. "Marriage", Koide's previous exhibition at Tomio Koyama Gallery featured figures that were dressed as a bride and groom; to commemorate their union, a traditional wedding portrait of the couple at the wedding chapel was taken.
Koide's atelier, and even the roof, is filled with statues that stand like mysterious guardian statues, which are typically found at shrines. The interpretation of human turned cumulonimbus cloud reflects Koide's views and mixing of imagination and reality to expose an unfathomable world.
"In These Days" is the follow up to "marriage". Picnic with Undead, the main feature, measures nearly three meters tall. Resembling a cloud castle, it displays a place that is neither in the world of the living nor the dead where one can meet family from the world of the living and from the world of the dead. Inside the smiling cloud's body is an everyday scene that could be occupied by playing children. The exhibition is scheduled to include Picnic with Undead, the couple after "marriage" and the cloud figure as well as photographs of works.
Naoki Koide was born in Aichi prefecture in 1968. He graduated from Tokyo Zokei University in 1992 and is presently based in Tokyo.
After participating in "Magic Room" (curated by Satoshi Okada) in 2003 at Tomio Koyama Galley, he followed that appearance with the solo exhibitions "A Couple in the Bathroom"(2004) and "marriage" (2006). Other major exhibitions have included "Café in Mito" (2004, Art Tower Mito, Tochigi), "Magical Art Life" (2006, Tokyo Wondersight, Shibuya), and "Fiction@Love" (Shanghai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai).
"In These Days"
Jan 12.sat - Feb 2.sat, 2008
opening reseption Jan 12.sat 6:00 - 8:00pm
Naoki Koide uses deformed sculptures to express himself and the people he associates with. Using a file on fiber reinforced plastic (FRP), he forms pastel shapes that extend in all directions. At first glance, they resemble figures that may be encountered at amusement parks or outside franchise restaurants, bakeries, and drug stores in Japan, however, the hidden smiles and fathomless expressions go beyond the world as we know it to create a character that is far removed from the realm of the normal and everyday.
Koide's works harbor a hint of friendliness that lurks somewhere within the eerie forms, which are occasionally depicted as a small hippopotamus, salamander, frog, or cat. "Marriage", Koide's previous exhibition at Tomio Koyama Gallery featured figures that were dressed as a bride and groom; to commemorate their union, a traditional wedding portrait of the couple at the wedding chapel was taken.
Koide's atelier, and even the roof, is filled with statues that stand like mysterious guardian statues, which are typically found at shrines. The interpretation of human turned cumulonimbus cloud reflects Koide's views and mixing of imagination and reality to expose an unfathomable world.
"In These Days" is the follow up to "marriage". Picnic with Undead, the main feature, measures nearly three meters tall. Resembling a cloud castle, it displays a place that is neither in the world of the living nor the dead where one can meet family from the world of the living and from the world of the dead. Inside the smiling cloud's body is an everyday scene that could be occupied by playing children. The exhibition is scheduled to include Picnic with Undead, the couple after "marriage" and the cloud figure as well as photographs of works.
Naoki Koide was born in Aichi prefecture in 1968. He graduated from Tokyo Zokei University in 1992 and is presently based in Tokyo.
After participating in "Magic Room" (curated by Satoshi Okada) in 2003 at Tomio Koyama Galley, he followed that appearance with the solo exhibitions "A Couple in the Bathroom"(2004) and "marriage" (2006). Other major exhibitions have included "Café in Mito" (2004, Art Tower Mito, Tochigi), "Magical Art Life" (2006, Tokyo Wondersight, Shibuya), and "Fiction@Love" (Shanghai Museum of Modern Art, Shanghai).